Howe makes ‘very difficult’ Newcastle transfer admission; ‘wants to keep’ Forest-bound Shelvey

Eddie Howe admits he wants to keep Jonjo Shelvey at Newcastle United and claims it will be “very difficult” to bring any permanent signings in before the transfer deadline.

Widespread reports have claimed that Shelvey is set to sign for Nottingham Forest with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano insisting that his medical tests are booked in with the journalist giving it a “here we go”.

Speaking about Shelvey’s potential departure, Howe told reporters on Monday: “Jonjo, I believe, is talking to Nottingham Forest. I don’t know at what stage that is at currently. Jonjo has been a huge player for this football club over the last seven years. He has been a very important part of my squad since I’ve been here. Unfortunately he’s had injuries this season.

“Certainly I would not want to lose him but similar to Chris Wood I have to understand the player’s wishes with his contract coming to an end this summer.”

The Magpies made Anthony Gordon their first major signing of the summer transfer window on Sunday with the England under-21 international joining from Everton in a deal worth £45m.

And Newcastle boss Howe thinks it is unlikely that they will be able to get another midfielder in to replace Shelvey on a permanent transfer.

On whether Shelvey can go if not replaced, Howe added: “I think it would be very difficult to keep Jonjo currently with where he wants his career to go.

“You can keep players that want to leave, but you have to take every situation independently really and try and judge everything and try and judge what’s best for him and the club. This is a very difficult situation because from a footballing perspective I definitely want to keep Jonjo.

“I rate him very highly. But there is his situation to think about and that’s where we’ve come to. We’ll see what we can do in the market to try and bring a player in.

“There is no guarantee but we will try and see what we can do. In terms of a permanent signing that will be very difficult but we will look for potentially a loan situation. It’s got to be the right player, we don’t just want to take any player for the sake of it.”

Howe continued: “I’m sure Jonjo has thought long and hard from his perspective about what he wants. Again, I can’t speak highly enough of him. He was huge last season in us staying in the division. He was the focal point of the team and he did a brilliant job.

“Unfortunately this season we haven’t seen him due to injury but…